Exploring the British colonial footprints in old Bhubaneswar

Photo@ Krushna's
The weekly guided heritage walk  'Ekamra Walks' in the old town area of Bhubaneswar taught me many lessons on the history and heritage of the city. Walking along the heritage trails of old town, knowing about the numerous stories behind each monument has been an enlightening experience all-together for a person like me who came to the city just 15 odd years ago.

As someone who studied at picturesque Ravenshaw College, my eyes are always on the look for iconic structures, especially colonial era structures whenever I walk along ancient monuments. The weekly tour of the old city trail was no different either. 
Curzon Mandap view tower near North gate of Lingaraj Temple. Photo @ Krushna's
In my quest for British era structures, the first one I stumbled upon is a small structure though but with prominent footprints of colonial era building pattern. This is an elevated viewing tower adjacent to the boundary wall of Lingaraj Temple near the north gate. A little online information digging and chatter with experts game me quite an interesting insight into the structure, which has been referred as Curzon Mandap by many people. As per local priests as well as information available in different web portals, the Viceroy Lord Curzon, denied entry into the majestic Lingaraj Temple for being a non-Hindu, had instructed his men to construct this view tower alongside the compound wall near the north gate of Lingaraj Temple complex. 
View of Lingaraj Temple complex from Curzon Mandap. Photo Source: @EkamraWalks
This view tower has later come as a bliss for thousands of non-Hindu tourists as well as photographers and regular visitors to get a picturesque semi-aerial view of the marvelous Lingaraj Temple complex, a cluster of 108 temples, built around 100 years prior to the Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri. 
British Era structure at Shri  Lingaraj Police Ststaion in Old Bhubaneswar. Photo Source:  BBSR-CTC Police website
Delighted after this first success, I started speaking to different people, priests and locals on other British era structures in the old city area. This led me to the now Shri Lingaraj Police Station, which was originally set up in the British era, as the first police station of Bhubaneswar. Located right in-front of the Lingaraj Temple main gate, the name of this police station was then Bhubaneswar Police Station which underwent change twice, once in 1997 and another time in 2014 to find its present name. 
British Era structure at Shri  Lingaraj Police Ststaion in Old Bhubaneswar. Photo @ Krushna's
Once at the location, I was happy to see the original one-storied structure intact which housed the police station and a small jail during the British period. The new police station has now been built on the other side of the old structure, without tinkering with it. Although, the old dilapidated structure with now creepers on it, doesn't have the grandeur of other big colonial era buildings, this certainly is one of the symbols of British era footprints in Bhubaneswar.    

Though there is no official establishment year mentioned either at the location or on the police website (which only says it was established during the British period), newspaper reports attribute the establishment year to 1912. Some reports also mention about the plan of Government to make it a heritage police station in view of it being the oldest police station in Bhubaneswar. 
Photo Source: EkamraWalks 
As part of Ekamra Walks heritage walk, some of the dharamsalas (pilgrim rest houses) built during the British period could be seen. Few other British period structures in the city which I came to know from experts and local people, were a revenue collection office, a post office, three schools and a small railway station building, which are going to be in my upcoming exploration wish list.

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